It was a relatively quiet spring on the coaching carousel. When Bill Self decided to return to Kansas and North Carolina hired a former NBA coach to replace Hubert Davis, that prevented the launch of a sequence of events that could have opened up multiple vacancies. In all, 51 jobs came open, all but three of which have been filled.
Time will tell just how well these hires will work out, but as is the case with my preseason top 25 rankings, it’s never too early to take a sneak peek at the future. Here, then, is my ranking of the top 10 coaching hires of 2026, beginning from the bottom up.
10. Justin Gainey, NC State
Gainey does not offer the splash factor that Will Wade provided a year ago, but he does bring other assets. First and foremost, he is a Wolfpack alum, having played there for Herb Sendek from 1996-2000. So his heart is in the job in a way that Wade’s never was. Gainey has also worked as an assistant not only for Sendek at Santa Clara but also two of the best in the business in Sean Miller (at Arizona) and Rick Barnes (Tennessee). The flip side is this is Gainey’s first head coaching job so he has some learning to do, but given the pain caused by Wade’s messy exit, for N.C. State to land someone this experienced who is also one of their own is a win.
9. Kyle Green, Northern Iowa
I’m a big fan of elevating assistant coaches, so I commend Northern Iowa for doing the right thing after Ben Jacobson left for Utah State. Green previously worked at UNI for two years under Greg McDermott, which was the first of four stints he had as an assistant there. Prior to rejoining Jacobson’s staff last year, Green spent five years working for T.J. Otzelberger at Iowa State, so he knows about building a winning culture. Northern Iowa is one of the most stable mid-major programs in the country (Jacobson was the head coach there for 20 years before he left for Utah State.) This should be a seamless transition.
8. Bryan Hodgson, Providence
Hodgson’s predecessor Kim English had just two years of head coaching experience at a mid-major (George Mason), so bringing in someone with three years of mid-major head coaching experience (two at Arkansas State and one at South Florida) might ring a little too familiar for Friars fans. Hodgson has shown promise in his past jobs, and he is a grinder who grew up on Olean, N.Y., played junior college ball there and bounced around five different programs as an assistant, including stints under Nate Oats at Buffalo and Alabama. He’s a blunt, no-nonsense communicator who should vibe well with his new fan base, and he will have a tailwind of first-rate facilities and a deep NIL bag to get him started.
7. Casey Alexander, Kansas State
This was a solid choice for the Wildcats following their messy divorce from Jerome Tang. While Tang was hired off of Scott Drew’s bench and had never been a college head coach before, Alexander brings a long track record of winning during his 15 years as the head coach at Stetson, Lipscomb and Belmont. There are plenty of high-rolling donors who are prepared to help Alexander build his roster.
6. Ronald Nored, Butler
It’s never a good idea to limit a coaching search to alumni alone, but when you can get a quality candidate who’s also an alum, that’s a great move. That’s what Butler did in bringing back Nored, who epitomized the Butler Way when he was playing on Brad Stevens’ Final Four teams in 2010 and ’11. A two-time Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, Nored has worked for several NBA teams as an assistant coach, including the last three years with the Atlanta Hawks, so he’ll have to get up to speed on the college game. The larger question is whether Butler is finally going to make a real financial commitment to help give Nored a roster that can compete in the Big East.
5. Michael Malone, North Carolina
This proud program is undergoing a painful transition, and after a few big name coaches turned it down (or leveraged for better contracts), soon-to-be permanent athletic director Steve Newmark pulled a surprising move and hired Malone, who was fired by the Denver Nuggets two years after leading them to the NBA championship. Malone spent seven years as a college assistant, but he has been in the NBA since 2001, so he has a steep learning curve ahead. There’s a sense amongst UNC fans and former players that this was the best the program could do, and if that’s the case, a former NBA championship coach is a pretty good place to land. The big question now is not just how well Malone adjusts to coaching in college, but also how quickly. Hubert Davis left him a pretty good roster of players and signed two top-level recruits, so Malone will have ever chance to make this thing work.
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4. Will Wade, LSU
Say what you will about Wade — and there is a lot to say — but there is no doubt that he has a proven track record of winning. That includes not only the five years he spent at LSU, which he led to the 2019 SEC regular season title, but also stints at Chattanooga, VCU and McNeese. His first team at NC State might not have lived up to preseason expectations, but Wade did lead the Pack back to the NCAA Tournament after they went 5-15 in the ACC the previous year. It was pretty shocking that Wade would go back to Baton Rouge considering LSU fired him in 2022 following an NCAA investigation that resulted in a 10-game suspension and two-year show-cause penalty, but Wade was lured by the chance to join the two men whom he worked for at McNeese, athletic director Heath Schroyer (who left to become a senior deputy AD at LSU) and president Wade Rousse.
3. Randy Bennett, Arizona State
For the last 25 years, Bennett has piloted a Saint Mary’s program that has been an exemplar or culture, consistency and excellence. Now he takes over an Arizona State program that has long struggled in the shadow of its big brother in Tucson and has had a difficult last few years under Bobby Hurley. ASU’s administration has declared its intent to invest enough in athletics to allow the team to compete better in the Big 12 (the school is about to begin a $100 million renovation of Desert Financial Arena), but Bennett is used to doing less with more, and he is especially proficient when it comes to recruiting international players.
2. Jerrod Calhoun, Cincinnati
There was good reason why Calhoun was such a hot name on the coaching circuit. He has extensive experience and a solid track record as a head coach for 14 years, including the last two at Utah State, which he took to the NCAA Tournament both years and where he just won a first-round game over Villanova. Given that Calhoun played for Cleveland State and then spent one year at Cincinnati as a student assistant under Bob Huggins, this was a terrific hire by Cincinnati. There’s no reason why this shouldn’t be one of the top programs in the country, but the Bearcats have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and have had a very hard time adjusting to life in the Big 12. Calhoun has shown he know how to build a winning culture, so he gives Cincinnati a fighting chance to build a better future.
1. Gerry McNamara, Syracuse
As Syracuse began its search to replace Adrian Autry, a question divided its fan base: Should the school hire someone from within the family, or the best coach available? With McNamara, it did both. As a freshman who played a huge rule in leading the 2003 team to a national championship, McNamara is a bona fide Syracuse legend. He was an assistant there for 15 years under Jim Boeheim and one under Autry. During his two seasons as head coach at Siena, McNamara took a program that had won four games the year before he got there to the NCAA Tournament, where he gave No. 1 overall seed Duke all it wanted in the first round. It also helps that McNamara has a great relationship with his former teammate, Carmelo Anthony, whose son Kiyan has already announced his intention to return for his sophomore season.
Meet your guide
